HaruKisa Series
by Cal reflector
Summary: A series of short pieces dedicated to Sohma Hatsuharu and Sohma Kisa. Part II contains a reversal of their usual roles between giver and reciever.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket does not belong to me.

**Courage**

Somewhere in Japan, patrons of a cake and café shop were enjoying the view from the store's location on the fifth floor of a department store; the weather for the weekend had been exceptionally fair, and families and couples filled the streets in droves to enjoy it. Back inside the cozy shop, several booths removed from the bustle of the rest of the patrons, a tall young man and a young girl sat at a window-side table across from each other.

The young man, who appeared like a fashion model with his mix of unique accessories and sleek clothes, had conspicuous white hair that was black at it roots. His younger companion, dressed in a yellow sundress that she had picked out after hours of deliberation (and a dash of courage) for the occasion, had soft blonde hair that stood apart from those brought about by artificial dyes. As they waited for their orders, the young man sipped his ice water nonchalantly, one arm slung behind him as he gazed out the window. The young girl meanwhile had her face buried behind a large teen magazine, trying to conceal the nervousness that had arose in her chest since the morning before she set out to meet the young man for their day out.

Things had gone poorly from the start: She blushed just recalling how when she met him at the bust stop he had smiled and complimented how cute her dress was. Cute was not what she had been aiming for, not when she was already in the second year of middle school… cute was no longer how she wished him to see her as. It wasn't before long that on the bus, she began noticing other girls—taller, older girls—looking at Haru excitedly, then at herself, then whispering and giggling among themselves. She didn't like it, the way they looked at Haru, the way they laughed at how she held Haru's hand, the perfect image of a big brother and his little sister. She wanted to wrap her arms around Haru's, but couldn't bring up the courage to do so.

The lack of courage… hadn't she overcome that? Hadn't she determined to finally ask Haru-oniichan on a date after all these years, to overcome her weakness, her timidity?

"Ano… Oniichan…"

The young man turned to face her, and her next words, uttered with all the resolve she could muster, came out just above a whisper. "… What sort of girl… do you like?"

Hatsuharu's usually sleepy eyes opened a little wider before he replied a long second later, the slightest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "… Why, all of a sudden?"

Kisa felt her cheeks come ablaze. "Ah… umm.. I was just curious. You see, like in this magazine!" Spreading the article before him on the table while avoiding knocking over the coffee and sundae that the waiter had just delivered to their table, Kisa continued. "See, like it says here… a down to earth type, a fashionable girl, or a homemaker type…"

Her heart racing still, Kisa held out the magazine for him as she tried to calm down. This effort was impeded however by Haru's knotted brow as he scanned the pages. After a moment, he leaned back into his seat and sighed. "… I don't know." Reaching across the table, he took a spoonful of the sundae he'd ordered for Kisa and put it in his mouth.

"… Oh." Kisa stared at the table for a moment before shifting her eyes lower to her hands, fighting back tears as she berated herself mentally. _What was I thinking? Acting so childishly and ruining things… Oniichan probably thinks badly of me now…_

"… I don't know what my type of girl is, never thought about it before..."

Kisa looked up to see Haru leaning across the table, his face propped up by one hand as the other reached to dip into her tall glass of sundae again, emerging with a spoonful of fresh strawberry, chocolate flakes, and vanilla ice cream which he held out to her.

"But if you're talking about the girl I like…"

Kisa closed her lips around the proffered treat; all thoughts vanished from her mind but for the sweet spoon that had just been in Haru's mouth a minute ago and the gentle smile on his face as he spoke.

"… She's sitting right in front of me."

Words lost their meaning. Kisa remembered how Haru had placed his hand against her face, brushing away the bit of whipped cream at the corner of her lips… and the tears of joy that rolled down her cheek as she cried. She remembered blushing harder and feeling happier than she had in her entire life… and she remember how at the end of the day she had wrapped her arms around Haru's for the bus ride home.

* * *

Author's Notes: My first Furuba fic, done for shatteredmidnightdreams as an LJ request. Had a great deal of fun writing this short piece, and hopefully will continue to add more in the future. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** An experiment with a different approach and style on these two, let me know what you think of it.

It had been a day just like this one, a few years ago, when the bullying at school and holing-up-in-silence became too unbearable and she had to run away. It had been a gloomy day like this one, when the rain kept pouring as she kept walking towards nowhere until exhausted, her body gave out and transformed, and she curled up under a bush, spent, ashamed, and miserable. Body soaked and shaking, she had shut her eyes and herself to the world until he came.

White hair dripping with teardrops of rain, he looked as soaked as she was, walking for hours without thought of sheltering himself, looking for and finally finding her. When he reached for her she growled at him; she didn't want to be touched, being touched meant being hurt, and she was tired of that.

_Leave me alone, _her narrowed eyes had threatened; pleaded.

But he didn't leave her alone, and his large hands reached out and picked her up, and she had been too weak to shrink away from those hands that weren't afraid of the pain. Eyelids heavy, she watched as he peeled off his coat, fur-lined and dry on the inside, and swathed her in its folds.

Later on, she would find healing from the girl whose hand she did bite, but the process had already begun; from the moment he found her and took her in his arms, warming and protecting her from the rain that continued to fall.

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When word came from Momiji that Haru had gone into a fit and exploded out of school midday and has been missing since, Kisa asked for permission to leave early then went off to look for him. She carried an umbrella and a towel borrowed from school, rain boots splashing through puddles as she searched for traces of her elder cousin.

An hour later she found him, transformed and sitting in an abandoned alleyway, hidden from view behind a pile of dirty plastic crates, splashes of mud against his side and wisps of steam rising from his body. He had heard her coming, and through the transformation she could see that he was still agitated.

"Oniichan?" She took a careful step towards him. "Oniichan… you can't stay here, others will see, you'll catch a cold…" And she realized that one towel wouldn't be enough for him, but when she tried to reach out to him he got up abruptly and backed away further into the alley, a dead end.

"Please, oniichan…" another step forward until she wrapped one shaky arm halfway around his neck, to keep him from transforming and just to hold him. "Come back with me, at least to someplace dry."

------

He reverted back to human form as soon as she withdrew her keys from the door. Pulling the towel down from his head, he covered himself and marched inside without a word as Kisa went upstairs to fetch some of her father's clothes; it was early afternoon, and her parents wouldn't be home from work until later that evening.

Ten minutes later, the sound of a tea kettle bubbling on the stove could be heard from the kitchen, and Kisa returned to find Haru in a pair of her father's slacks, topless and hair dripping still, seated on the floor with back leaning against the wall in the living room as he stared darkly into the rain outside. She brought fresh towels with her, to replace the sodden one around his neck.

"I… I drew the bath." He didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge her presence in the room, only continuing to stare outside. "Oniichan…"

"Don't come near me."

She stopped, stung by the malice in his voice; all the years together, up until this day, she had only heard of his black side from all the others, never seen for herself. He continued. "Why did you bring me here? Don't you know how dangerous I am when I'm like this? What I could do to you?"

And she was frightened; his eyes and his voice, the snarl on his face, the anger and spite, none of which resembled the cousin she had grown to love. "But… I…"

"Just get away from me. Just… leave me alone."

She was hurt, and tempted to leave the towel and turn and run away. She heard about how dangerous Haru could be, the damage he's done, how Kyo and Yuki sometimes had to subdue him until he changed back, and how she should stay as far away as she could if he turned black because he couldn't control himself.

But she didn't walk away; it wasn't exactly like the stories she heard.

_Don't you know how dangerous I am when I'm like this?_

… Stories she only heard, because he'd never shown his black side to her.

_Don't you know… what I could do to you?_

Because he never wanted her to see his black side, ever.

_Just leave me alone…_

A second later Haru found himself wrapped in his cousin's embrace, his face buried just beneath her shoulder, which would not have been possible had he not been sitting down. The youth's mind reeled; he warned and threatened—he was supposed to be the one protecting her—but she had shut her eyes and shook her head and refused to let go, and for all their difference in size and strength he could not push her away until finally, gradually, the red haze began to lift from his mind and he sank into her arms, the black feelings exorcised and in their place clarity and warmth.

"Kisa…"

"Mmmm?"

"…stay like this, just a while longer."

She nodded, a small smile on her face, and he fell asleep, head resting in her arms.


End file.
